Kit for making a smoking article

Abstract: A kit for making a smoking article comprises a hull 10 which itself comprises a hollow cylinder 14 of cigarette paper having a filter at one end joined to it by tipping 16. The kit also includes a rectangular sheet 12 of reconstituted tobacco, the long side of which is the same length as the cylinder. The smoker rolls the sheet into a cylindrical shape and inserts it into the hull to make a cigarette.

Description: The present invention relates to a kit for making a smoking article for assembly by a smoker. It also relates to a novel smoking article. It is known to provide, separately, unsmokable components of cigarettes to smokers for assembly into smokable cigarettes. Conventionally, a tobacco rod wrapped in a very high porosity paper wrapper and, separately, an empty hull consisting of a cylinder of conventional cigarette wrapper closed at one end by a conventional filter plug attached to the wrapper by conventional tipping are provided. The porosity of the very high porosity wrapper is such that the tobacco rod cannot be smoked. It is chosen, bearing in mind the packing density and other characteristics of the tobacco in the rod, to ensure that this is the case. Typical porosity values for the very high porosity wrappers are around 20000 Coresta units. The smoker inserts the tobacco rod into a hull to make a smokable cigarette. A cigarette of this type is disclosed in EP-0 155 514, in which the tobacco rod has a wrapper with many large perforations, rendering it unsmokable. Another cigarette component system, described in European Patent Application No. 93 305 363.9, consists of a tobacco column wrapped in a conventional cigarette wrapper. At one end, a hollow cylindrical extension is provided by a continuation of the wrapper beyond the tobacco column. The extension is treated to make it unsmokable. The rod cannot be smoked, since drawing on the extension will cause it to collapse, and the unsmokeable nature of the extension makes it impossible to light that end and smoke the rod. The smoker renders the rod smokable by inserting a filter plug into the extension. DE-A-1 809 983 discloses the manufacture of a cigarette of conventional appearance the filler of which is a bunched up sheet of reconstituted tobacco. According to the invention there is provided a kit for making a smoking article comprising: a hull comprising a hollow cylinder of wrapping closed at one end by a filter; and separately, reconstituted tobacco, characterised in that the reconstituted tobacco comprises a plurality of sheets of reconstituted tobacco, at least one of the sheets having a different tobacco composition to others of the sheets, a principal dimension of each sheet of reconstituted tobacco being substantially equal to the length of the hollow cylinder. Preferably the sheets of smoking material are generally rectangular, and have a width the same as the hollow length of the hull. In order to make a smoking article, a smoker rolls a sheet reconstituted tobacco into a cylinder of slightly smaller diameter than that of the hull, and inserts the rolled sheet into the open end of the hull. The invention also provides a smoking article comprising a plurality of sheets of reconstituted tobacco, at least one of the sheets having a different tobacco composition to others of the sheets, rolled into a cylinder inside a cylindrical wrapper, the cylindrical wrapper being closed by a filter. The sheet of reconstituted tobacco may be of flue cured, Burley, oriental or blended tobacco. It is envisaged that a kit may include several relatively thin sheets of reconstituted tobacco, of different tobaccos or blends. The smoker selects two or more such sheets, and rolls them together for insertion into a single hull. In this way, the smoker can blend his own tobacco. The smoker can add flavouring material to a sheet before rolling it up and inserting it into the hull. The flavouring material can be solid, such as a powder, or liquid. The invention will be further described by way of example with reference to the drawing which shows a part of a preferred kit according to the invention, in the process of being made into a smoking article. The kit shown in the drawing consists of a hull 10 and a sheet 12 of reconstituted tobacco. In the drawing, the sheet 12 is shown rolled into a cylinder. The hull 10 comprises a cylinder 14 of cigarette wrapper joined at one end to a filter. The cylinder 14 consists of a sheet of conventional cigarette wrapper formed into a cylinder and glued along its free edges. The filter is axially aligned with the cylinder 14 and joined thereto by conventional tipping 16. The smoker rolls the sheet 12 of reconstituted tobacco into a cylinder of slightly smaller diameter than the hull 10, and inserts the rolled sheet into the open end of the cylinder 14 of the hull 10, as shown in the drawing. The smoker pushes the rolled sheet 12 into the hull, so that the sheet abuts the filter. The assembled smoking article can be smoked as a conventional smoking article. In another embodiment, not shown, the smoker rolls cut filler in a sheet of smoking material, such as a sheet of reconstituted tobacco, and inserts the thus formed rod into the hull of cigarette wrapper.

Claims: A kit for making a smoking article comprising: a hull (10) comprising a hollow cylinder (14) of wrapping closed at one end by a filter; and separately, reconstituted tobacco, characterised in that the reconstituted tobacco comprises a plurality of sheets (12) of reconstituted tobacco, at least one of the sheets having a different tobacco composition to others of the sheets, a principal dimension of each sheet of reconstituted tobacco being substantially equal to the length of the hollow cylinder. A smoking article made from a kit according to claim 1. A smoking article comprising a plurality of sheets of reconstituted tobacco, at least one of the sheets having a different tobacco composition to others of the sheets, rolled into a cylinder inside a cylindrical wrapper (14), the cylindrical wrapper being closed by a filter.

Inventors: BADERTSCHER THOMAS, NYFFELER URS, BADERTSCHER, THOMAS, NYFFELER, URS
Applicants: TABAC FAB REUNIES SA, FABRIQUES DE TABAC REUNIES S.A.
Application year: 1994
Main classification: A24C5
IPC codes: A24C5, A24D1